Refilling A Depleted Emergency Fund

We all know that an emergency fund within our budget is essential to surviving the unplanned and unforeseen events that happen in life. Events this past winter and spring plowed right through my family's rather generous emergency fund. In fact, we needed to tap into money that we had set aside for retirement. (This was not tax-deferred money, so we don't owe any penalties for withdrawal). A slew of unforeseen events can wipe a person's account out in a matter of months. And it can happen to anybody at any time.

My husband and I add to our emergency fund each month, so its growth is never stagnant. But the amount added each month is not enough to quickly replenish the fund. Should anything else happen, we'd need to take more money out of that set aside for our future. So, we are attempting to rapidly refill our emergency fund. 

Here are my thoughts on how this is achievable.

How to refill after an emergency fund has been depleted

There are 2 ways to go about this, cut back on spending or bring in more money. Cutting back on spending can be the simpler way to go about this. while bringing in more income has more avenues to pursue.

• cut back spending in all discretionary areas and redirect that money towards refilling the fund. In the past, we've simply cut every variable category by a flat percentage. This works well for us and doesn't leave us feeling too deprived.
• bring in more money via yard/ebay/Craigslist/Facebook marketplace sales of used household items or clothing. Bring in more money through temporary side or supplementary employment (temporary holiday job, online gig work, such as Cambly or Upwork, start/rejuvenate and monetize a blog or YouTube channel, take on extra shifts with current employer, take on part time work through a new employer.

If you do just one of these checklist items, your emergency fund could be refilled with time. However, if you pursue several avenues, the time-to-goal can be dramatically reduced.

How it's going for my family

What we've done

• we had a yard sale this summer, getting rid of kid stuff and unwanted furniture while adding to our emergency fund.
• my husband has picked up additional work in his field. This is work he does remotely and can do on weekends/evenings. 
• I've cut our budget in many areas. Some of the basic frugal things we've been doing: diligently turning down heat when no one is home, cooking/baking from scratch regularly, using the oven for several items at one time instead of heating the oven multiple times, sticking to grocery lists when shopping, mending clothing instead of buying new pieces, harvesting as much as I can from the garden and freezing for winter meals, substituted free or cheap day outings in place of an extended vacation this summer.

The impact so far

We've already refilled about 40% of our emergency fund (and this is after we bought a second car). We're at a point right now that we could handle one major appliance repair or replacement, if need be. 

Our monthly contributions to an emergency fund are roughly four to five times what they normally would be. It's fair to say that we're being aggressive about saving right now, forgoing most discretionary spending. And yet, I don't think we feel deprived. 

I try to plan for fun but free or cheap entertainment and meals on a regular basis. We continue to have Friday pizza (homemade) and movie nights (library DVDs or what we can stream for free through library's apps, or borrowing DVDs from friends). We had a game day in early September which was a lot of fun. This month we went to a pumpkin farm. By mid-November there will be many holiday activities to enjoy for free or low-cost. For example, the pumpkin farm does a  Christmas thing between the middle of November and the middle of December. 

If all continues to go well, our emergency fund should be fully replenished by the end of 2025. That's not that far off.

Playing Hooky

A day at the pumpkin farm

I played hooky this morning. But so did my family. So I don't feel too badly about it.  October is quickly coming to an end. This would be our last week to go out to the pumpkin and corn fields.

This farm sits on 70 acres of land. I think the pumpkin fields use up about 4 of those acres. We made our way through the pumpkins for about an hour and put 1 mile on the step-counter app on my phone. When I would stop and stand still, it was so quiet. This is what I want in retirement, a place where it's quiet, like this.

There must be several acres in corn here, the corn rows that bound a couple of sides of the pumpkin fields, the corn maze patch, and a very large field of corn across the road from the public part of the farm.

The trees were gorgeous, the sky was pale blue with a few clouds floating by, and the sun shone on us this morning. We were very fortunate with the weather. It has been so rainy and cold lately. We all brought our boots to wear in the fields, as we knew it would be. very muddy.

When I say fields of pumpkins, there was literally one field after the next still filled with pumpkins, some fully ripe, others still green, and more in the early stages of development with blossoms still opening waiting for a pollinator.

This farm divides its fields up by size of pumpkin. There was the little kids' pumpkin patch, with pumpkins sized to appeal to the littles. Many preschool age kids were there this morning, and they mostly stayed in the little kids' patch. The patch we tromped through was filled with the large pumpkins, some as large as beachballs. 

The corn was in differing stages of growth. Some were being harvested to sell at the farm stand at the front of the farm. I inquired about the price per ear. They were $1.25 each. Ouch! I decided not to buy any at that price. I realize they make their money selling pumpkins, corn, and products at inflated prices. No worry, I would spend a some money in their little store in just a short while. I want to support their family-owned business so they continue to be a part of our family's adventures.

The sell snacks and coffee, also at inflated prices. However, I decided to bring something from home for us to enjoy at their picnic tables. I brought thick slices of freshly-baked pumpkin bread and a thermos of hot chai herb tea. We sat and talked in the sunshine while enjoying our little snack at the farm until a group of preschoolers and their teachers swarmed the area. I adore little kids. But what I really wanted in this moment was quiet.

We wandered over to the retail area of the farm. In the little store they sold, you guessed it, pumpkin butter, for $8.95 per jar.

Fortunately for us, we can make our own pumpkin butter for a fraction of that price.

They had a few interesting canned goods, such as this cinnamon apple syrup. One of the things I do when finding something interesting like this is turn the jar or bottle over and take a photo of the ingredients label. 

I can often reverse engineer a recipe for a homemade version of a product if the ingredients are simple enough. The syrup was even more expensive than the pumpkin butter. So again, I passed on this product. 

Here is an idea for a DIY gift-able that I wanted to share with you. The sign calls them "Simmer Pots."

Much of what you're paying for is attractive packaging. These would be super simple to assemble and give as gifts. They include dried fruit, like orange slices, dried herbs, pods, and spices, packaged in a canning jar, tied with baker's twine, and given a label with instructions.

They came in different fragrances. I focused on this one, as it looked appealing in the jar. It contained cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, dried orange slices, star anise, nutmeg, and rosemary. The directions say to put the entire contents of the jar in a saucepan with 2 cups of water, then simmer on the stove to fragrance your home. 

I told you that I did spend some money at the farm. I bought two gifts for my son and daughter-in-law for their upcoming birthdays, one, a jar of unusual jam (fig, raspberry, orange zest, and ginger), and two, a candle in a fragrance that both my daughter-in-law and I love, Fraser Fir. Yes, these gifts were expensive, but with the jam, it supports the farm, and the candle is from a local cottage industry business. Supporting small businesses that are local is a priority in my spending when possible.

After changing back into shoes when we left the farm, we made a lunch stop at a family-owned burger place. We went to this restaurant after visiting the pumpkin farm several years ago and wanted to go again. The burgers are really tasty and the onion rings are crispy. This burger place has been in operation and family-owned since 1959. It's cute. It's funky. And the food is perfect. What more could we ask for?

A day of hooky every now and then is rejuvenating. I'll get back to regular work tomorrow.